Bicycle Bar Cart
Vintage 1950s American Carts and Bar Carts
Iron
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Metal
20th Century Barware
Brass
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Art Deco Carts and Bar Carts
Marble
Vintage 1940s American Adirondack Stools
Rattan, Wood
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
Vintage 1950s British Posters
Paper
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Stools
Metal, Iron
20th Century American Adirondack Stools
Wood
Vintage 1970s American Modern Barware
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Velvet
Mid-20th Century English Industrial Signs
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric
Vintage 1960s Spanish Brutalist Stools
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Paint
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Barware
Chrome
Vintage 1930s English Art Deco Carts and Bar Carts
Metal, Steel, Chrome
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Barware
Metal
Recent Sales
Vintage 1960s American American Craftsman Carts and Bar Carts
Oak
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Vintage 1950s American Carts and Bar Carts
Iron
Vintage 1960s American Carts and Bar Carts
Wood
Vintage 1960s American Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Carts and Bar Carts
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Carts and Bar Carts
Iron
Vintage 1960s American Carts and Bar Carts
Aluminum, Steel, Wrought Iron
20th Century Canadian Carts and Bar Carts
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Steel
Vintage 1970s American Carts and Bar Carts
Steel
Vintage 1940s American Carts and Bar Carts
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Serving Tables
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Serving Tables
Metal
Antique Late 19th Century Victorian Patio and Garden Furniture
Wicker, Rattan
Vintage 1960s Carts and Bar Carts
20th Century American Carts and Bar Carts
Wood
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Maple
Vintage 1950s Italian Carts and Bar Carts
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Vintage 1960s American Carts and Bar Carts
Metal
20th Century Italian Card Tables and Tea Tables
Chrome
Finding the Right bar-carts for You
Forever a sleek and elegant furnishing that evokes luxury and sophistication, a vintage bar cart will prove both functional and fabulous in your living room.
Bar carts as we know them were originally conceived as tea trolleys — a modest-sized table on wheels, sometimes featuring both an upper and lower shelf — to help facilitate tea service during the Victorian era in England. Modern bar carts weren’t really a common fixture in American interiors until after the end of Prohibition in the 1930s, when they were rolled onto the sets of Hollywood films. There, they suggested wealth and status in the dining rooms of affluent characters.
As tough as the 1930s had been on the average working American, the postwar era yielded economic stability and growth in homeownership. Increasingly, bar carts designed by the likes of Edward Wormley and other furniture makers became an integral part of sunken living rooms across the United States in the 1950s.
Bar carts were a must-have addition to the sensuous and sleek low-profile furnishings that we now call mid-century modern, each outfitted with the finest spirits and savory snacks that people had to offer. And partially owing to critical darlings like Mad Men, vintage cocktail carts have since seen a resurgence and have even become a selling point in restaurants.
Bar carts not only boast tremendous utilitarian value but also introduce a fun, nostalgic dynamic to the layout of your space, be it in the bar area or elsewhere. In addition to showcasing your favorite bottles of rye and local small-batch gin — or juices and mocktail ingredients — there is an undeniable allure to stacking statement glassware, vintage martini cocktail shakers and Art Deco decanter sets atop your fully stocked mid-century modern bar cart. And one size or style doesn’t fit all — an evolution of cocktail cart design throughout history has yielded all manner of metal bar carts, rattan carts and more.
We invite you to add a few more dashes of class to cocktail hour — peruse the vast collection of antique and vintage carts and bar carts on 1stDibs today.
- How do you stock a bar cart?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertSeptember 25, 2019
A bar cart should be stocked with a jigger, shaker, strainer, bottle opener, corkscrew, ice bucket, tongs and various alcoholic beverages.
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